The Scorpion Witch
by TheMarvelousChester
Summary: Rated T for language and blood. Reviews are much appreciated. A scorpion witch has embedded herself deep inside of death city, with a plan to wipe the city out. It's up to Ciaran, a Meister and Rin, a weapon, along with their friends to stop her. Completely filled with OCs apart from Lord Death, Stein and Sid. . Please don't be mean ;-;
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Rin get it out, get it out now!" Ciaran screamed, the tall black haired boy stood against the wall aiming a shaking finger at his weapon and the fluffy ball she held in her hands. Rin had her dark brown hair tied back in a ponytail as she always did and her light blue eyes gleamed in the daylight. Ciaran's eyes meanwhile seemed to reject all light and the dark browns didn't gleam like his partner's. To Rin this was the first time she had seen Ciaran show an emotion other than disinterested and indifferent.

"But he's adorable!" The bundle whimpered in her arms and Ciaran screamed bloody murder.

"Stop being a baby!" She chuckled, she stepped forward and he scrambled away.

"Get rid of it, I mean it!" Ciaran cried

"Why?!" Rin challenged, Ciaran knew she would have an argument no matter what he said. Ciaran would never admit his fear to her so he grunted and made a clear attempt to calm himself down.

"We can keep him but he's staying in your room and you have to care for him!" He plopped himself down on the sofa and carried on watching the show he had been focused on. Rin sat down next to him and sat the whimpering being on her lap and started to stroke him to help alleviate his fear. Ciaran scooted up as far as he could as if he was trying to squeeze down under the cushions and disappear forever.

"I'll call him Silver I think, his fur is such a nice shade of grey don't you think?" The huskie puppy looked at Ciaran and cocked his head to one side.

"Where did you find him anyway?"

"He's a stray I found him abandoned in the alley by a coffee shop in a wet cardboard box."

"Oh great fleas all around!" Ciaran moaned

"Oh shut up whining I'm going to take him out tomorrow to see a vet," Rin snapped "But first I'm going to bath him, come on Silver just ignore this meany." She carried him out of the room cooing into his ears.

"Don't put your head too close!" Ciaran yelled

"Whatever!" She yelled from the bathroom where the sound of running water could be heard and the yapping of the pup was audible. The door slammed and a young girl stepped into the room.

"Hey Kat," Ciaran smiled warmly, Katarina embraced Ciaran and pressed her face against his.

"Has Rin had a baby?" Katarina sat back on her knees

"Of course not," He frowned

"Who is she bathing?"

"A flea ridden mutt!" Ciaran growled. At that moment Rin entered with Silver wrapped up in her own towel, the puppy barked at Katarina and she hopped up to stroke his damp fur.

"You're not going to re-use that towel are you?" Ciaran griped

"I think he's adorable!" She giggled as he licked her face which triggered Ciaran to groan in protest.

"His name is Silver," She ruffled his fur "Where's Ruby?"

"Ruby is moving the rest of the stuff out of her parent's house,"

"Poor girl I couldn't imagine myself in her position," Rin sympathized

"She'll forgive them when they buy her another pony!" Ciaran spat out

"Just because she called you a filthy commoner when you first met her!" Rin laughed

"No, because she acts like an absolute snob all of the time,"

"But that doesn't mean she's spoilt!"

"Stop it you two!" Kat cried and Silver yelped in fright at the outburst. Katarina hushed and stroked him.

"How about Kayo?"

"Hunting a monster,"

"You really want to show him off don't you Rin ?" Ciaran smiled

"Off course I do he's such a cutey!" Rin went into another spiel of made up words for the dog.

"Ciaran we'll see you in a minute we're going out to buy some stuff,"

"Ok," He didn't look up.

*Some time later*

"We're back!" Rin struggled into the room to see that Ciaran hadn't moved, under one arm she held a struggling Silver and she was trying to carry two large bags of puppy food in the both her hands. Ciaran stood up and took the bags. He watched Silver like a hawk as he took the bags. Katarina followed her with a bed and carrying case.

"Before you start bitching he's staying in my room," Rin set Silver down and let him run, Ciaran dumped the two bags and helped Kat with the rest. After a lot of back and forth they had finally moved all of the stuff for Silver into their small apartment. The puppy now had a collar wrapped around his neck with Silver written on it in blue with their address and phone number. Silver hopped onto the sofa and looked at Ciaran with his wide blue eyes. Rin scooped him up and put him on the floor

"Happy?" She hissed

"What the hell has got iyou?" Ciaran snapped

"You constantly whining why can't you be happy for once?!"

"Because that's my opinion," His tone of voice didn't change

"Stop acting so indifferent!" She yelled

"Stop it!" Katarina yelled "You're partners, Ciaran I know you don't like dogs and Rin you need to realize that he doesn't like dogs for a reason!"

"What do you mean!" Rin cried "Why are you acting like this!?"

For the first time since Rin had known him she saw a flash of pain and fear on his normally blank features. Rin realized she had said the wrong thing and looked at the floor, she looked up and saw the visible pain.

"I'm sorry." She muttered, not daring to meet his eyes.

Ciaran stood up and left the room without saying a word to either of them.

*That evening*

Rin made dinner in a somber silence, Kat had gone home and Ciaran hadn't resurfaced from his bedroom. Silver meanwhile was merrily stuffing his face without a care in the world. When she finished she ladled some into a bowl and put it by the door. She gently knocked and tried the door. It was locked shut, Rin cursed the door and left the tray outside. She went into her room and laid on her bed, Silver came and nestled himself in her lap, soon the sound of his soft snoring filled the silence. Rin pondered why her meister hated dogs and guilt coiled inside her. Ciaran wasn't the one to allow things to get under his skin but this had affected him, that is what worried Rin. She thought until she fell into the blissful oblivion of sleep.

*Some more time later*

Ciaran stood, in his old room, listening to his Dad beating his Mother in the other room. He had three bottles of beer in him and he was going to kill the bastard who'd made him and his mother's lives hell. He stormed to the door and threw the door open. Then he was on the floor of his garage with his head in bleeding, he stood over him with a piece of bloodied and plank of wood in his hand. His mouth twisted into a sick grin. Then the dog came bounding into the garage, it's teeth pulled back into a snarl then it bites through his wrist and sprays his blood across the grey concrete floor. Darkness clouds his vision and the sound of laughter filled his ears.

Then Ciaran awoke, safe and sound on his bedroom where there was no dog tearing him apart. His entire body was saturated in sweat and his breathing was heavy. He sat up and regained his composure, his stomach rumbled and his throat was like sandpaper. His naked, sweaty body quivered like a leaf in the wind. Still terrorized by his nightmare Ciaran wiped the wetness from his face and got out of bed. After sliding some clothes on her unbolted the door and looked down at the cold food on a breakfast tray. He picked it up and walked it to the kitchen, he heard the soft sound of Rin snoring in her room then Ciaran saw the soft light of her lamp, left on. He went in quietly and looked at her slumbering form then he picked up the red comforter that was crumpled up on the floor and covered her with it. Ciaran sat down on the sofa and thought about the dream and recalled what happened on that warm summer afternoon. He remembered storming into the room and seeing his mother cowering in the corner and he was stood there above her with his hand raised. Ciaran remembered lunging to hit him and being thrown against the wall head first and seeing stars, then he hurled him down the stairs and dragged him into the garage then as he tried to stand the plank of wood struck him in the forehead which knocked him to the floor. Ciaran remembered screaming in fury and pain and his mother screaming at the monster to leave him alone but then he let the dog in…

Ciaran's eyes filled with tears at the memory then he blinked them away and pulled down the sleeve on his left arm and looked at the vicious scars covering the wrist and there were more across his legs send stomach. Ciaran was lucky to keep his eye, the dog was trying to maul his face when his mother, bruised black and purple she swung a shovel at the wretched thing's head and then at her boyfriend. The dog fell over, dazed and whimpering. He got up, clutching at his bleeding head, she turned to him and screamed at him to leave as her boyfriend rose from the ground with his nose broken and pumping blood. He ran out, slamming into walls and never returned.

Ciaran spent four days on the streets until he was found by a member of the academy who could see his affinity for being able to wield weapons then he was shipped off to the DWMA. He still didn't know what had happened to his mother. But Ciaran knew if he ever saw him again, he would kill him and he wouldn't hesitatto

* * *

A/N: Hello everyone, this is my first fic so I hope you enjoy it. I'm sorry if it dragged towards the end. The uploading schedule will be once or twice a week. No flamez please.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Mary was just another girl, she wasn't a particularly interesting girl, she wasn't pretty and her grades were average. She was bullied by her classmates and they pushed her over the edge. She waited patiently until one of them said something and the whole class laughed at her, she took out the knife and killed every single one of them, no matter how much they begged she killed them. Mary took all oftheir souls and devoured them. Now she was here… she wasn't sure how but she was in this huge orphanage. She tried to kill all of them but a lot of them fled. Her sanity slipped until she was little more than an animal. The police had tried to enter but she'd sent them off. She keeps the building as her territory, she runs a dangerous risk of becoming a kishin so your job is to eliminate her." The white haired girl read from the file on her, the car hit a bump and it did a little bounce.

"So the usual?" Eric said, his green eyes wide with the fear Kayo was so used to seeing, her eyes remained unchanged and un-bothered by the impending fight.

"We're almost there," The driver said to the pair, completely oblivious

"Thank you," Kayo didn't even look at him.

The taxi slowed and the Meister and weapon could see the derelict building, standing tall and proud in the pale moonlight. Kayo paid the driver and got out, as the car pulled away Kayo lit the file with a lighter and dropped it to the floor. The tall iron gate blocked their way, through it they could see the weed filled front garden, smashed windows and the collapsing ceiling. Eric looked at the gate, it was heavily rusted and a chain was wrapped all the way around, it was secured with a large padlock.

"It's locked," Eric glared at the lock for a moment.

"Transform," Kayo held out her right hand, Eric closed his eyes and his body broke apart into a white light, it all met in her hand and formed a combat knife, it's blade elegantly curving, with it's blade shining bright silver. Kayo tugged on the lock but she didn't feel it give at all, she slipped it into the sheaf wrapped around her thigh, just covered by the hem of the elegant white and blue skirt she wore. Kayo stood on the waist high wall that fenced off the building to prevent intruders, she lifted herself up to the top and vaulted it. She landed on something soft and cursed, she'd looked at her foot and saw the cat turd smeared on her boot. Kayo stepped up to the wooden doors with the frosted glass panes smashed, glass strewn across the doorstep. The door was locked, Kayo hunkered down and from her boot she pulled out a pair of lock picks. After a brief moment the lock clicked and the door swung open with a creak.

The reception area was a long rectangle, directly in front of the door was a long, plain oak wood staircase. To the right there was a reception room. In the corner there was a headless decaying body leaning against the wall, his white polo shirt was coated in dried blood, she couldn't see the head's location. Kayo searched the bottom floor, she ignored her partner's whimpers whenever they saw a body or a pool of blood. Eric had an intense phobia of blood, he would often become paralyzed upon seeing blood which often left Kayo to defend herself on missions. When she stepped into the kitchen, her eyes widened, there were three tables set out in the expansive space, across them there were napkins, jugs and other kinds of things you'd find on an average table, but it was what was on the chairs that made her eyes widen. Bodies. Their clothes stained and torn, they were sat at the table as if they were still alive and about to eat a meal. Disturbed Kayo quickly moved around and only found more corpses, she returned to the lobby and began climbing up the steps, they creaked and Kayo feared they were so rotted they'd collapse beneath her. She reached the landing and looked at doors lining the hallway, she chose the dorm that had it's door hanging off one hinge, it opened with a squeal which sounded uncannily like a dying pig. Kayo looked across at the long room, the dorm was lined with beds and the windows. The dormitory was dimly lit by the moon and the left wall looked like it had been savaged by an animal in a tantrum then Kayo was flying across the room, she hit the wall and her head smacked it. From the floor she could see the kishin coming for her, Mary's long black hair framed her pale white face and glowing red eyes. Kayo tore the knife from the sheaf and tried to stand then a foot smacked her in the face and she was back on the floor. Eric transformed into a human and shoved her away with all his strength, then Mary tore a butchers knife and a kitchen knife from a barbers belt around her waist. She pounced for her partner, weapons flashing, Eric transformed the lower half of his leg into a blade and deflected the hit in a shower of sparks. The pair fought, the room being lit by bursts of sparks while Kayo tried to pull herself up. Mary's pale face contorted with rage and for the first time Eric could make out a badly stitched cut across her face, then his guard failed. Bloody Mary seized him by the throat and with insane strength hurled him at the wall, Eric hit in and the seemingly mangled wall broke when he hit it, he continued through and caught something.

A lifeless corpse fell down next to him, the slit throat let a little spray of blood that splattered up his face. Eric wailed and scrambled into the corner as the monster bore down up him with her knife ready to deliver a fatal stab. Kayo pulled through her concussion and stumbled to them, then she saw Mary stab him in the chest. Kayo felt like her world had fallen apart right in front of her eyes, blood spurted from the open wound and sprayed across the wall. Eric screamed in pain and tried to struggle, his phobia had paralyzed him and it had costed him his life. Mary stabbed repeatedly and Eric's screams filled the room and through blurred vision she could make out the room, on the walls there were bodies held in place by long rusted nails through the necks. Kayo stumbled forwards and tripped over, fury propelled her forward then she grabbed a clump of long black hair and used it to throw her away from her partner. The hair tore from the scalp and she slammed against the far wall with a screech, Kayo dropped the bundle and dodged the blitz of swipes and stabs then she dodged another stab which implanted it up to the handle in the wall and Kayo roared and stomped on the knee. With a sickening crack splinters of bone exploded out of the skin and showered the floor, Kayo furiously seized her by the head and slammed her against a vacant nail. It burst through in a shower of crimson but she wasn't done next she tore the knife from the wall and stabbed it through her hand, pinning it in place next Kayo grabbed the other knife and with her teeth bared she hacked the hand clean off the arm in another shower of blood. By now Kayo's clothes were absolutely saturated in the red, her white skirt stained by blood and dripping. It also trickled down her from her forehead across her nose and to her chin. The kishin pinned by her throat and unable to get out of it Kayo turned to her partner's limp form, she could still sense life inside of him. Kayo lifted him like a newly wed husband would hold his wife. She left the kishin to struggle against the binding of knife and nail, she walked down the enormous staircase with Eric's arms weakly wrapped around her neck then the room swayed and she tripped. Kayo flew down half the stairs and used her own body to shield her weapon's as she bounced down them and smacked her head on the steps. Cursing furiously with more blood pumping from her forehead she limped across to the open door.

"Kayo…" Eric breathed weakly.

"Eric you're awake!" Kayo's face blossomed into a beautiful smile

"I haven't got long I know it,"

"Hang in there we're going to take you to the hospital and they'll help you!" Kayo started walking quicker until she laid her eyes the padlocked gate

"Stop."

"What?" Kayo knew why but she refused to believe it

"Put me down let me look at the moon." Kayo set him down, with him in his lap.

"You're going to be fine!" Kayo held her hand to the gaping wound in a desperate attempt to stem the flow.

"I need to tell you something."

"Save it for the hospital." She said gruffly

"Kayo." He looked into her eyes "Since I met you I've always looked up to you you're like my big sister and the last two years with you have been the best I've ever had if I'd had another partner I know they wouldn't be as good as you," His vision darkened around the edges and he made an effort to stay awake "What I'm trying to say is is that I love you and I have since I met you!" He swallowed then Kayo laughed softly and Eric grinned painfully. She leant in and pushed her lips lightly against his and held them there, tears came from the eyes and slid down her face. She pulled away and he smiled warmly and slowly that smile began to dip until his smile disappeared and his eyes closed.

"Eric, Eric wake up." Kayo's voice cracked and she began to sob

"No, no, no, no!" Tears slashed down onto his face "Wake up!" She screamed. She cradled him to her chest and sobbed like a wounded animal. Then the sound of sirens came and Kayo remembered police and ambulance workers coming to the gate-before she passed out.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The sound of slamming pots and the smell of cooking food woke Ciaran, he looked around and realized he'd fallen asleep on the sofa in a shirt and his underwear. Rin was cooking breakfast in the conjoined kitchen and she seemed to be making as much noise as possible. Embarrassed he scuttled out of the room and slipped off his clothes, wrapped himself in a towel and went into the shower.

As the hot water washed away the feeling of grunge and being sticky and dirty. He toweled off and put clean clothes on. When he went back in Silver was happily murdering a bowl of food and on the table there were two plates of hot food with a jug of orange juice in the middle.

"Rin." Ciaran stopped her from sitting down "We need to talk,"

"About what?" She glowered

"You know what I'm talking about!" He growled

"About your constant bitching and whining?"

"Don't put it like that I have my reasons!"

"What are they then tell me so I know!"

Ciaran was shocked by how blunt she was being.

"I'm not going to tell you!" He yelled

"Why?" She cried "We're partners you can't hold that sort of shit inside of you!" Rin grabbed him by the shoulders and looked into his eyes. Ciaran's resolve finally broke and a tear slipped from his eye. He told her about how the Rottweiler had savaged him and how he had run away. He pulled back his sleeves and showed the scars, then he showed the ones on his legs and stomach. Tears ran down Rin's face and she embraced him tightly. The two crying humans embraced each other, they parted and Rin ruffled his thick hair.

"I'll take him to a shelter later it's the only way,"

"No." He shook his head "It's not fair on you!"

"Yesterday you were moaning about him," She smiled

"Maybe…" He considered the idea "We could use him as a kind of therapy,"

"I'm not exactly a neuro scientist but that could work." Rin considered it, the sound of a door slamming made the two break contact. Silver ran out to the hall barking.

"Guys…" A broken voice came from the hall

"Come in."Ciaran called

Kayo limped into the room, she looked like shit, her hair was limp and her clothes were stained red.

"Holy shit are you alright?" Rin ran to her and checked her for injuries.

"Eric's dead." She said bluntly

"What!" Ciaran cried

"Kishin killed him," Rin noticed the darkness under her eyes and guided her to the sofa where she collapsed. She seemed small and weak which was a huge contrast to the strong girl they were used to seeing.

"I'll make you a drink." Ciaran boiled the kettle and made a cup of tea for her. Kayo just sat there and stared into space with her untouched cup gripped in two hands.

"I passed out at the gate and woke up in a hospital bed I had all kinds of things jammed into my arms I found out I had a minor concussion and my back had been cut up by loose shards of glass and I'd lost a lot of blood." Kayo struggled to say the rest "I saw him in the morgue he looked so happy like he was fast asleep and I knew I'd never see him again." An eerie smile broke across her expressionless face "I don't understand how I was so attached to him." _Crack._ Ciaran slapped her, hard.

"What the fuck!" Rin yelled

"You never say anything like that." Ciaran snarled "Ever!"

"Ciaran what the hell!" Rin cried

"I don't give a shit if you're a previous member of the secret service beat me if you want to but you never say something like that, Eric may of had his flaws but he was an amazing person and he loved you like a sister!" He yelled, Kayo looked down at the floor, her cheek glowing red.

"You're right." She whispered

"I'm…sorry." He fell back into his seat, mortified. Silence filled the air like a gas.

"Lord Death has given me some time off and he's apparently got me a replacement," Kayo informed seemingly unabashed.

"Do you know what weapon form they are?" Ciaran asked

"An assault rifle so I guess I'll be right at home."

"Are you still coming over tonight?" Rin asked, trying to change the topic.

"Yeah I am, I'm heading home to catch up on sleep and then I've got to go to a flaming counselling session." Kayo stood up and went to the door. Rin hugged her and Ciaran looked at her sheepishly.

"No hard feelings?" He held out his hand. She gripped his hand, twisted his hand around causing him to yelp and slammed him face first into the wall.

"Owww!" He yelled, rubbing his nose, he became aware of the two girls laughing their heads off.

"No hard feelings at all!" And she left laughing while Silver jumped around barking. Rin picked up the plates of stone cold food and binned them.

"I'll make us some lunch." Rin volunteered

"No I'll make it," He boiled tomato soup and buttered them some rolls.

"I'll need you to run to the shop and pick up the Chinese for tonight." Rin took a bite out of a roll covered in boiling hot soup and gagged, waving her hand in front of her face to cool it down.

"I'll miss Eric." Ciaran suddenly said. "He didn't really fit in with us but he was cool he was nice."

"I will too." Rin bit her thumb "It feels like a dream like it's not even happening but I know it's not a dream and poor Eric is dead."

"Oh crap!" Rin cried "I need to take Silver to get his shots I'll be back later I'm gonna be late!" She scooped up Silver like a loaf of bread then grabbed her jacket and sprinted out of the house without saying anything else.

"What the hell?" He said to the empty apartment and shrugged to himself. Ciaran sat on the sofa and dozed off, then he woke to Rin roughly shaking him with panic etched all over her face.

"Wha-" He grumbled

"Silver ran off I can't find him!" She cried, her eyes filled with tears. Ciaran snapped awake and leapt up, he seized a katana scabbard from his room and sprinted out with Rin on tow. They ran through Death City yelling for Silver, Rin becoming increasingly more distraught. Then they heard his barking and sprinted to the source, in the middle of the park there was a large group of people, thugs.

"Fucking great!" Ciaran snarled

"Hey that's our dog!" She ran to them, seemingly from nowhere a man materialized. They stopped to a halt, he looked about 18.

"He's yours?" The man smirked

"Yes." Rin growled

"How much you want to pay?" He grinned

"What!" Rin screamed, Ciaran sensed a fight and pushed her behind him.

"Or you could let me touch your-" He was cut off by a foot smacking him in the head. Ciaran looked at Rin, surprised. He looked at them with fury in his eyes and pulled out of his pocket a flick knife. Ciaran stepped between them.

"You fucked up!" He spat blood. Another joined him with a baseball bat in his chubby hands.

"Rin go find help."

"No." Rin snarled "They'll kill you!"

"Better me than you!"

"Yeah weak little bitch get out of here go and find your Mummy!" The second thug laughed with his huge gut heaving. Then there was a flash of white and the fat man was flying backwards, bat snapped clean in half. Kayo straightened up and glared at the men. He got up huffing and puffing as the gang laughed at him. He seized a metal bar from one of his cronies and slapped it against his flabby palm. Kayo smirked and looked at the weapon and meister:

"You two deal with skinny arse I've got lard arse!" She charged forward and engaged him. Skinny twirled his knife and Rin transformed into her weapon form. It was a katana, it's blade dark purple and the handle decorated with elaborate red and white fastenings with a dolphin engraved into the pommel. It slipped into the sheaf with a clink, Skinny lunged for them and Ciaran used the scabbard to smack the arm off course then he dodged around and jabbed him in the back of the head with the scabbard. With a roar of fury he charged forward and Ciaran tore the sword out in a flash, he cut him from the top of his head down to his groin in a single graceful motion and sheaved it. The thug screamed and clutched at his face but nothing happened and slowly the beany hat he had sat on top of his head split at the front as did his vest and trousers, as they peeled apart so did his underwear.

"I hear they have surgeries for enlargements!" He smirked as the thug dropped his knife and ran away in shame, covering his groin.

As Rin and Ciaran battled Skinny Kayo was faced with the grim reality of fighting someone twice her size. She had nothing against fat people but this one terrified her with his swinging gut-He was her Goliath. She dodged the swipes of the metal bar and tried to find a weakness but the blitz was keeping her at bay and left no defensive gaps for her to exploit and gain the advantage. Then she realized she'd have to create an opening of her own so Kayo raised her arm and cried in pain as the bar cracked against her arm but simultaneously she stomped on the knee, just like the night Eric died, he fell to one knee with a cry. Kayo looked upon him with expressionless eyes, grabbed him behind the head with both hands and drove her knee into his face with a crack. David had felled Goliath. He lay there with blood running from his nose, out cold.

"No one hurts my friends not anymore!" She snarled and walked to the others as Ciaran brandished the sword and yelled at the gang

"Anyone else?" They dispersed very quickly with as much camaraderie as possible. Silver came sprinting towards Ciaran and a now human Rin. She picked up the puppy and held him close while he licked her face furiously. Kayo walked to Ciaran and he held out his hand, she slapped hers to his and shook.

"No hard feelings." He laughed she twisted his arm pulled him into a hug.

"Kayo thank you so much!" Rin hugged her with Silver wedged between the three. They broke apart and went back to the apartment where they sat down laughing.

"That was one way to blow off some steam." Kayo grinned

"We're so lucky you were there or…" She banished the thought from her mind

"You're welcome," She chuckled "Bastard got me on the arm though,"

"I swear I recognized the fat one," Rin frowned

"That was Dan." Kayo snapped her fingers

"Oh yeah,"

"Who?" Ciaran asked

"The guy who was expelled I told you!" Rin raised an eyebrow with a smile on her face

"I don't have much time for gossip," He stuck his tongue out

"He was kicked out because he almost killed another student in an unsupervised duel, his partner was a morning star so you can tell how that turned out."

"Damn." Ciaran was shocked

"Oh well I suppose he got what he deserves." Kayo dismissed.

"I don't think they hurt Silver," Rin hadn't let him out of her lap since they got back.

"You never introduced me to him," Kayo rubbed him behind the ear.

"This is Silver," The puppy licked Kayo's hand.

"Hello Silver I'm Kayo," She ruffled his fur. Ciaran however could see undisguised pain in her eyes, she was putting on a brave face. There was a knock at the door, everyone looked up and Silver barked.

"It might be them," Rin whispered.

"I'll get it then," Kayo replied quietly and grabbed a kitchen knife.

"You don't need that," Ciaran said and Rin shushed him. Ciaran peeked around the corner as Kayo walked to the door with the knife hidden behind her back. She opened it and Katarina came in.

"Oh hey Kayo," Kat hugged her "I'm so sorry about Eric, wait what's this?" She had felt the knife

"Kat," Ciaran greeted her and Silver ran around the corner barking. When Kat was inside Kayo put the knife away and the others explained what happened.

"Oh my God!" She cried "Did they hurt him?"

"We don't think so," Rin hugged him close.

"Good," Kat clapped her hands together "If they did they'd have to deal with me, Kayo and Rin!"

"What about me?" Ciaran said

"Not you," She stuck her tongue out and chuckled.

"Oh and Rin that was a great kick," Kayo praised.

"Thank you I guess I've never been praised for being violent before."

"Get used to it we're friends with Kayo Senju for Christ's sake!" Then they all laughed.

"Ruby said she's on her way so Ciaran go and get the food now," Rin instructed

"I'll go with him," Kayo volunteered "If we run into that gang I would quite like to blow off some steam before I have to listen to Ruby insulting my clothing,"

"She's not that bad," Rin snorted at Katarina's defense.

"Well better I punch a group of strangers than her so let's get going," Rin gave Ciaran the list.

"Just to clarify we're getting food not a criminal record okay?" Ciaran laughed as they left and the door closed behind them. Leaving the two girls to gossip and go girl things that Kayo held would rather bathe in electric eels than do.

*7:00PM*

The pair came in and the puppy came running to them barking. Kayo handed her share of the burden to Ciaran and picked the dog up. The first thing she picked up was the loud and upper-class accent of Ruby with every word she said she seemed to somehow be an offensive jab despite her rebellious teenager attire and hair.

"Hey everyone." Ciaran said dryly and dumped the two bags.

"Hello Ciaran how are you?" Ruby asked

"I'm good thanks how are you?"

"Exquisite." The way she talked seemed to be mocking but it was not according to Rin and the girls.

"Thanks for asking me Ruby," Kayo said pointedly.

"Let me guess blood soaked and more manly than Ciaran," She smiled sweetly. Kayo's hand clenched into a fist, Ciaran held her wrist tightly.

"Enough both of you," Rin snapped "Ruby Kayo just lost Eric to a kishin please be a little bit more considerate." Ruby was shocked into silence.

"I'm so sorry Kayo…" Ruby had the decency to look down.

"I forgive you," Kayo seemed to deflate. The others seemed to draw around Ruby protectively because they knew when Kayo was this calm she's likely to commit a murder.

"Let's eat." Kayo sat down and grabbed a pair of chop sticks. They all sat down and tucked in to the Chinese. They laughed and discussed, then Rin brought up what had happened at the green.

"Common scum!" Ruby cried "All's I'd have to do is assault them with my verbiage and they'd become so flustered by their inability to independently think they'd collapse!" Everyone laughed at her comment. Then Ciaran tapped lightly on his glass, everyone went quiet and he stood up.

"I want to have a minute of silence for our fallen friend Eric, he was a talented and intelligent person and we'll miss him dearly he may not have fit in with as us well as the others but we will always remember him." Ciaran sat down and after a minute had passed he raised his glass

"To Eric." The others echoed it solemnly. They drank and silence overcame them again.

"I'll never forget him." Kayo choked. "For as long as I live I will never ever forget you!"

*A hours later*

The others had left apart from Katarina who sat with Silver in her lap.

"I'm going to go home," Silver jumped off her lap as she sat up.

"You may as well stay for the night," Rin suggested

"We've got school tomorrow?" Katarina said

"Stay and you can go and get ready early tomorrow," Rin replied

"Erm sure," Silver seemed to sense she was staying and hopped back into her lap where he made himself comfortable.

"You can stay in my room?" Ciaran volunteered "There won't be room for Silver, Rin _and_ you,"

"Sly," Rin muttered

"Pardon me?"

"Nothing at all!" She laughed

Kat and Ciaran topped and tailed, she had her head resting on the pillow while Ciaran had his face pressed into the foot of the bed. He fell asleep quickly but was woken up by a strange noise, he closed his eyes to go back to sleep when he heard it again. He shifted and saw that the noise was coming from Kat who was trying to smoother her cries into his pillow. He sat up and she turned her face into the fabric to hide it. Ciaran squirmed about and sat next to her, she looked at him through tear filled eyes and he touched her lightly.

"What's wrong?" Ciaran went into his nightstand and pulled out a box of tissues. She took one and wiped her eyes. Ciaran put them on the nightstand and rubbed her shoulder.

"Did you have a bad dream?" He sympathized with her "I have them too it's nothing to be ashamed of." Katarina sniffed.

"It's nothing for you to worry about Ciaran go back to bed I really don't want to talk about it."

"If you talk about your problems they'll go away, a problem shared is a problem halved." He spoke softly and tried to be as soothing as possible.

"You always say you hate that phrase,"

"I do, I hate it so much because it's a cliché which makes it sound like the more people you share it with the more spread out it becomes until it's insignificant!" A small smile came across her face at his babbling.

"There we go!" He smiled back.

"I'll tell you but you can't tell anyone!"

"I've got a fair few things I don't tell people," He confessed

"Like what you use those tissues for!" Her smile grew

"Yes I suppose so." He laughed softly and she joined him. They leant back against the headboard and she seemed to struggle to know where to start.

"It was my step-mother, when my Mum died a few years ago my Dad became an alcoholic and neglected me for a long time and over that time I learnt how to cook and survive on my own, then he remarried to some strange woman called "Abby" at first everything was all good but then he tried to break up with her because of some obscure reason she became nasty." Ciaran held the tissues and offered her one which she accepted "She was horrible to me, she would snarl at me and snap whenever I got in the way and she'd make me do everything she wanted. Then it got worse. She began locking me in a cupboard under the stairs. I'd stay there in the dark for hours screaming for Dad but he never came, she began to call it the Dark Room, if I didn't do everything she wanted and exactly how she wanted it done she'd go "Don't make me lock you in the Dark Room." And I guess the appropriate way of putting it is that I'm afraid of the dark." More tears came through and she wiped them away.

"Oh Kat." Ciaran whispered and pulled her in to a hug and she sobbed into his chest and he held her there until it passed.

"I was lucky," She shuddered against his chest "My neighbour called the police after hearing me screaming for Dad, Then the police burst into the house and found me locked in that cupboard I was lucky she'd attached a bolt to the outside so she could lock me in. They let me out and I was handed over to the authorities, they found my Dad punch drunk upstairs and they deduced that it was her who'd done it because my father was too incoherent to be able to do it then I lived with Ruby for several months before I transferred to the DWMA she stayed with her parents and eventually she moved in with me as my weapon." Ciaran's shirt was damp with her tears and he rubbed her back in what he hoped was a comforting manner. "Have you heard from him since?"

"Yeah once when I was living with Ruby he told me he and her were being put on trial he told me how sorry he was and if he could turn time back he would make sure he never got together with that witch."

"What a vile woman!" He spat furiously

"I don't blame my Dad for it, he couldn't cope with my Mum dying and everyone has there own way of coping with things and his was to drink."

"You don't blame him?" Ciaran was confused "Kat you're one of the most wonderful human beings I know you know that!" He laughed.

"I didn't exactly have the best of step-parents it's like a bad cliché isn't it?" He chuckled

"Tell me your story then." Kat suggested, Ciaran shared his story with her.

"I guess we both have our fears don't we." She rested her head on his chest and yawned.

"Kat let's get some rest we've got school tomorrow.

"Good night Ciaran."

"Good night Kat."

* * *

A/N: Hello-hope you enjoyed this chapterI just want to point out I hate the cliché but it's nice for the two of them to bond and be friends. Also I'd like to point out violence towards a woman is never okay and it's wrong. So yeah- yaaaay two in one week! See you guys next time and thanks to Rosearrichan for being my first ever reviewer and favorite!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Morning love birds!" Ciaran woke up with a grunt and saw Rin standing by the window, she ripped open the curtains and sunlight spilled into the room. Katarina stirred next to him and looked at Rin through blurred eyes.

"Come on get up!" She yelled and left the room. Ciaran rolled out of the bed and grabbed some clothes off of the floor.

"I'll see you at school Kat." He left the room and went into the bathroom where he changed into his clothes and brushed his teeth. When he left Silver was sat there staring at him with his eyes wide and head tilted. Gingerly he bent down and rubbed the dog behind the ear, he barked happily and Ciaran recoiled instinctively. He went into the kitchen and quickly ate the breakfast laid on the table. They walked along the cobbled streets and as they went their friends joined them until they all began the long ascent up the enormous staircase that lead to the DWMA. The bell for first lesson rang and they rode through the waves of chattering people and finally they arrived at their first lesson of the day.

"Good morning class!" Professor Franken Stein yelled, cigarette in mouth and his other hand turning the screw protruding from the side of his head. Stein was a frightening man, tall with messy gray hair he had an uncanny habit of striking fear into any child he looked at over the rim of his glasses especially with his reputation for dissecting everything that moved.

"Today we'll be outside for a practical lesson." He put out the cigarette in an ash tray sitting on his desk and the class trekked out, murmuring with excitement. They stepped out into the warm morning sunshine and they heard their teacher's disinterested voice ring loud and clear.

"Class split into your pairs and spread out leave plenty of room between you!" They spread out and at his command everyone transformed. Ruby transformed into a scythe that was double the size as Katarina and she struggled to hold it. Rin transformed and Ciaran caught her in both hands.

"Today we're practicing soul resonance, this is when you both focus your minds until you're souls are resonating as one, this will allow you to perform powerful techniques that are unique to your pair. You need to focus your thoughts, clear your mind and eventually you'll be able to resonate don't be disheartened if you don't manage to do it the first time around!" Stein lit another cigarette and turned his screw vigorously.

Ciaran spread his legs and held the sword out in front of him. He cleared his mind and closed his eyes, he steadied his breathing and took deep in and out breaths. Then he felt something, a jolt that radiated through him and a sudden warmth followed it. Ciaran felt a huge blast of power radiate from him, he opened his eyes wearily. The blade of the katana was coated in blue flames and a blue bubble surrounded him, Stein seemed shocked for a moment and then his face contorted into a disturbing smile. A single thought flickered across Ciaran's mind, the image of his step father's dog. Then the big bubble popped. In a bright flash the orb exploded violently and he was thrown like a ragdoll to the floor. People screamed and a girl rushed to Ciaran as his vision began to cloud, his eyes slowly closed as he witnessed Stein sprinting towards him. Blackness consumed his vision and Ciaran's head rested against the hard ground.

*Meanwhile*

Kayo left for the Death Room instead of going to her first lesson of the day. She walked through the winding halls of the academy without bothering to trying to go in any particular direction. Lord Death's liked having an aura of mystery for the students at his academy, his words of wisdom were:

"If you wish to find me no matter what direction you go I'll be there!" He'd say in his chirpy voice wagging his enormous foam finger left and right like a pendulum. Kayo scoffed at the thought, the corridors were modelled so that they all led to the Death Room, all's you had to do was go forward. In you were looking for anything else however, you're screwed. Kayo finally came to the Death Room after passing at least twenty doors labelled with the most peculiar labels. Brewery, Portal room and for some reason a cake shop. The door loomed in front of her, it was different to the other plain wooden doors in that this was a towering blank door with only the Death mask and a name plate adorning it. She grabbed the heavy handle and pushed, Kayo loved the Death Room for it was built into a separate dimension where she felt like she was on top of the world. Kayo walked through the customized tori gates that were styled to look like guillotines. The dome was bright blue with fluffy clouds lazily gliding along, a vision of calm. There was a raised disc set into the centre of the dome where she could make out Lord Death and Sid the zombie who were obviously deep in conversation.

"Do you think they're connected?"

"They could be, they were all violent and the victims looked they'd been stuffed in a blender."

"Why did they happen?"

"I don't know." Then Death turned and saw the teen standing behind him

"Ah Kayo!" He cried happily "How are you?"

"Good thank you Lord Death." She smiled, she noticed how he had a plate with a large slice of half eaten cake on it.

"Did you hear what we were discussing?" Sid peered at her

"Yes I did," She shifted uncomfortably

"Oh don't worry about it Sid!" Death chuckled "Kayo was a part of the secret service don't you remember we can trust her!" Death seemed unfazed "You're hear to meet your new partner aren't you?"

"Yes I am."

"Then let's go!" They left Sid at the podium and weaved through the numerous crosses until they came across another door, Death opened the door and ushered her in, the room they stepped into was large and had a balcony which overlooked another beautiful sky. Standing at this balcony was a tall man with short brown hair. He too had a slice of chocolate cake.

"Sir why has everyone got cake?" Kayo turned to see Death holding a piece of cake out to her with a fork inserted into it.

"Erm thank you." The confused girl accepted the dessert without even bothering to question the erratic actions of the headmaster.

"Kayo this is Alex, Alex this is Kayo!"

"Hello it's nice to meet you." He held out his hand, she shook it.

"Come and sit with me." Death led the pair to a small table by the window where they both sat down.

"I'd like you two to do something for me I want you to go on a test mission to Japan."

"Say what now?" Kayo chocked on her mouthful of cake.

"I want you two to find and eliminate a rogue agent from our Chinese branch."

"How will we get there?" Kayo ate another bite and savored how fluffy and light it was.

"Ah I'll show you!" Death whipped a ring of keys from nowhere and took one off, he handed it to Kayo.

"Come with me!" He gestured to a door on the opposite wall. She looked at the key and inserted it into the lock, she gave it a twist and she heard a metal clang and she opened the door. A rush of cold blasted her mercilessly, Kayo covered her face and saw snow covered mountains and she yanked the door shut.

"What the fuck was that!" She screamed

"Mind your language!" Death flicked her lightly on the nose with one of his giant fingers. "It's a dimensional door, we have them in every single major city in the world and a few other places."

"I'll give you key to the Chinese city of Hong Kong and you and Alex need to hunt him." Death began cycling through the giant key holder until he came across the one he wanted.

"Go on then I'll see you both soon!" Death waved them away.

"This will be fun won't it." Alex smiled warmly at her, in reply she grunted.

"See you guys later!" Then he ushered them to the door.

*Elsewhere*

When Ciaran came to he was laying on a bed in the school infirmary. Next to him sat Rin and Katarina.

"Wakey wakey." Rin grinned at him, Kat leapt on him and hugged him tight. Ciaran cried out in pain and Kat withdrew, terrified. A door shut and the curtains covering him were swept back, Mira Naigus stood before him, clipboard in hand.

"How are you feeling?" Naigus asked cheerfully

"Like I was hit by a truck."

"Well your resonance did overload and explode." She laughed.

"Pardon me?" He stared in disbelief

"Your resonance broke and what with the fact it was surprisingly powerful for an inexperienced Meister and Weapon it burst and released cleansing blue flames!" She wrote something on her clipboard "You ended up with serious burns on your chest and upper right thigh I've bandaged them and applied healing salve to the burns Katarina helped." Ciaran realized his clothes were likely ruined and turned red when he realized he was only in his underwear.

"Naigus has been training me to be a medic I don't like hurting people I want to help them." She blushed crimson.

"She's an excellent student!" Naigus patted her on the shoulder and Kat squeaked with embarrassment.

"Anyway you'll be fine Rin went and got you some clothes from your apartment."

"Thank you Naigus." She handed him a pot of strange smelling cream. The others left him to change into the clothes that were neatly folded on a chair next to the bed. Rin was leaning against the wall and as he left she came to him.

"I know what caused our resonance to break." They both walked through the halls to have their lunch "I saw a flash of it and I think we need to sort this together,"

"I can't stop the thought from coming into my head."

"I know when we get home we're going to sort this." Rin promised.

"We need to sort this out." Ciaran nodded, he put on a brave face and tried to hide the dread and fear welling up inside.

* * *

A/N:Hello friends. I'm thinking of starting a new fic but I'll need to plan it out first. This time around it will involve the original gang!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Kayo inserted the key into the lock and twisted it. It opened with a hiss into downtown Hong Kong.

"See you later!" Death waved as they left. The door swung shut behind them, Kayo turned back and saw the door was little more than a stretch of painted wall with a gap where Kayo assumed she put the key.

"Death gave me a picture of the man." Alex handed her a slip of paper with their mark on it. He had a bundle of short black hair and he was not Chinese like the people around them, he would stand out among the crowd. Kayo and her new partner set off in search of the traitor. As they walked Alex attempted to make conversation with Kayo but was ignored, he attributed it to her being focused on the mission. Finally she grabbed him and slammed him against a wall with a look of pure fury on her face.

"You're little more than a replacement for Eric!" She snarled "We're not friends and I have no interest in becoming your friend either now shut the hell up and start looking!" She spun around and stormed away, leaving a shocked Alex to chase her. They stopped in front of a small restaurant that was opposite a firework store and a block of apartments suddenly Kayo stepped back and shoved Alex out of view.

"He's in the restaurant!" She hissed. Kayo guided him into the apartment block where he transformed. He became an assault rifle, it's design sleek and black. Set atop the gun was a scope and on the bottom was a grenade launcher.

"This is pretty cool." She went up the concrete steps until she came to a dingy landing lined with doors. She could hear various sounds coming from them; a TV blasting a show, the sounds of arguing and the sounds of a woman gossiping down the phone and cackling like a witch. And at the end of the hall was a small window that overlooked the open front of the restaurant. Kayo tugged it open and with much resistance it finally slid up and left enough room for her to aim and fire. She went down on one knee and put the mans head in the center of her scope, she took a deep breath, one shot and he would be dead, a smoking hole in the side of his head. Kayo pulled the trigger. The shot made an almighty bang and a purple light filled the hall, the purple bolt flew across the short space and hit the cup of water in his hand. At the last second he tilted his head back and took a swig of his water, the glass exploded in his hand and for a second, time stood still. Then hell broke loose. Their mark threw himself away from the table as a second shot hit the leg of his chair and tore through it. People fled from the restaurant in a flurry of screams and panic. Kayo slipped out of the window, gun in hand, and leapt to the street. The wind whipped her hair and face, Kayo hit the concrete floor, feet first, and rolled. She came up in a crouch and charged through the gaggle of people into the restaurant, He stood in the doorway leading to the kitchen with a revolver drawn. He fired and Kayo hurled herself to the ground to avoid the shot and in reply send a burst of bullets randomly, they hit everything around him as he took a pot shot and fled through the door. Kayo got up and followed, the kitchen was a long rectangular room with counters along the sides and middle, more bullets zoomed her way and the chefs threw themselves to the floor. She stepped out of cover and fired a single shot, it missed and struck a pile of plates next to him, which exploded with a crash and shower of china shards. He took the opportunity to run for a flight of stairs as Kayo fired at him again. Swearing with frustration she gave chase. This lead her to a spiral stairway which she could hear the echoed footsteps of her prey. Kayo aimed with the grenade launcher and fired. It struck the stairs above her with a boom, it transformed into a bright purple ball of light that absorbed that section of stair into it and Kayo realized it was attuned to her soul, so it became less or more powerful in accordance to her wishes. Kayo forced it to close with her mind and carried on running, she was getting angry at the futility of her new weapon. She leapt the gap she'd created with little effort thanks to her fury giving her energy and power. Finally Kayo reached a grey metal door that was slightly ajar at the top of the stairs then she booted it open and stormed onto the rooftop with her gun raised.

"Behind you!" Alex warned, she spun and used the gun to deflect a crowbar that was swung for her head, but she couldn't block the powerful punch that followed. Her head snapped back and tasted the blood filling her mouth. Fury took over and Kayo blocked another swipe, twirled the gun and smacked him in the face with the butt of the gun. He stumbled and clutched at his bloody nose, Kayo took the opportunity to launch a savage kickI for his face. It was a ruse and he caught her foot and with a bellow like an animal he used it to hurl her across the roof like a ragdoll. Kayo bounced and rolled until she felt her back slam against the railing. She pulled her self up and charged him, he dodged to one side and launched an aggressive elbow into her throat, knocking her to the ground. He leapt onto the and started choking her, he dug his fingers into her trachea and pushed down with his thumbs.

"Who do you think you are?" He snarled "Sending a kid to kill me!" He bore down on her with his full weight and pinned her arms using his knees. Then he began laughing, it was an unpleasant laugh and it sounded like he'd eaten a nail.

"I remember you now!" He chuckled "You were that little smart ass with the brat of a partner!" He bared his yellow teeth "He was pathetic just like you!" Kayo felt rage pulsing through her like blood, she struggled against the hold, gurgling. Her vision was darkening.

"I bet he died, just like you then I'll kill your partner other there, you dump bit-" He flew off of Kayo with a yell, she sat up coughing violently and clutching at her bruised throat. Alex and the man were wresting on the ground, the pair of them throwing punches. Then he got the upper hand, he kicked Alex off of him and lifted him by the throat. He threw several punches into his face which drew more blood. He held him over the edge of the roof and Kayo rose, with leaden feet she sprinted to him and barged him with her shoulder. He flew off of the roof and over the edge, Kayo threw herself forward and grabbed Alex's blood soaked hand. He looked up at her and their eyes met. She heaved and pulled him up and back into safety. His face was soaked with blood and covered in bruises. They both supported each other until they reached the wall where they collapsed against it.

"Are you ok?" He throat was burning and her voice was husky.

"Yeah." Kayo tore off a strip of her dress and used it to mop up some of the blood.

"Your throat…" His fingers lightly brushed the bruised flesh.

"I'll look far better than you do." She chuckled.

"True." She had cleaned off most of the blood from his eyes and she could see his sparkling blue eyes.

"You're gonna be hellah bruised tomorrow!" She laughed.

"That sounds about right." He rubbed a cut across his temple and winced in pain. They supported each other to the wall where they collapsed against it and slid down to the ground, Kayo breathed heavily and rested her head against her new partner's shoulder.

"I'm so sorry," Kayo moved close to Alex and engulfed herself in his warmth.

"For what?" Kayo felt the cold rush her and shivered, Alex put his arm around her shoulder and squeezed her tight.

"What I said to you."

"It's alright, I understand, you feel like I'm replacing Eric and if you're not ready for us to be partners then I will wait for you."

"Shut up with all the soppy shit Alex!" Kayo snorted.

"You put on a brave face so people do not see what you're feeling." Kayo was taken aback by his apt analysis.

"It's getting cold up here, maybe we could get something to eat and go back?" He suggested.

"I like the idea," Alex stood up and offered his hand to her, she accepted it and they left the building, they hopped the gap made by the singularity created by the grenade. When they left there was a storm of flashing blue and red lights, the body of the rogue agent was surrounded by paramedics and policemen. They averted their eyes and made their way through the rapidly emptying streets until they came to a stall selling grilled chicken covered in sweet sauce. They ate the meat and stopped at the wall door. Kayo plunged the key into the small gap and felt the heavy metal parts of the door twisting in response. It swung open and they found themselves in the little side room once again. Alex gratefully slide down onto the plush sofa with a sigh of relief. The sun was setting and darkness was coming rapidly. Kayo's phone exploded with noise the second she stepped out of the doorway. She peered at the notifications, most of them were from her friends wondering where she was but a headline from the news app on her phone caught her attention;

"Man found dead with an axe stuck through his head." Kayo's skin crawled at the thought. She had done worse on covert operations but something so close to home was bloody terrifying for her.

"I'll see you later," Alex picked up his jacket and put it on. Kayo nodded, she was too busy reading the story. He was found in an alleyway, close to where she lived, she yawned and decided she'd get a cup of coffee before she went back. Kayo went into a quiet coffee shop and ordered a large mocha from the girl who looked like she had been caught in an explosion at a makeup factory. She sat and took her time, she had always enjoyed peace and quiet without the chatter of people filling her ears constantly, it was nice to sit in the one of the comfy chairs with only a few other people sat down. By now the sun had almost set and darkness was sweeping through the streets like a phantom, Kayo remembered how much time she used to spend here. Both working and drinking, she had been fired after headbutting a particularly rude customer, who had been threatening one of the newest workers, and breaking his nose. The manager had told her he respected what she did but for the sake of the shop's reputation he had to fire her, Kayo understood. Then she witnessed something unusual. A person walked by the window, normally she wouldn't even have paid attention, but this time it was different. They walked, doubled over as if in pain with their arms hanging loose and towards the floor, their feet dragged across the floor. They looked like a zombie. Under the circumstances and the increase of random and violent murders Kayo realized what it could not just be a coincidence. She downed the drink and coughed as it seared her throat as she rushed into the cool evening air with blast of white fog coming from her mouth as she stalked the figure down the street, then he broke into a run. Kayo sprinted after him, he was running faster than she could have guessed as he lost her in a matter of minutes. Panting Kayo searched through the streets when she heard a demonic screech, she broke into a run again when she reached the source. The man was on all fours, screaming in rage and smashing his fist against a manhole cover, his fists becoming bloodier as he pummeled it with his fists. He threw back his head and screamed, deep gashes snaked across his knuckles and pumping blood. He renewed his feral assault, the metallic protrusions on the cover slitting open his hands, Kayo stepped into the light and went to call out when another joined him, they both began to punch the manhole, both of them howling like animals. Kayo knew she needed help and turned. Before her stood a behemoth of a man, he too was doubled over with his arms hanging loosely, his presence shocked her and she stood paralyzed in fear as a fist collided with her jaw. She yelled out in pain and clutched the area as a metal pipe clanged against her head, creating a long laceration across her temple. Kayo snarled and rolled away as the pipe smashed down onto the pavement. With unsteady feet ran, stumbling blindly, her foot hit the curb and she sprawled. A car rounded the corner as her assailant stepped into the road, the car slammed into him and he hit the concrete with a wet smack Kayo scrambled to her feet and ran, she did not look back.

*Rin and Ciaran's apartment*

"Calm down!" Rin screamed

"No!" Ciaran ran with Silver in pursuit.

"He's not gonna bite you, you big baby!" She bellowed. He lopped around the dog and ran past Rin, she tripped him and he sprawled across the carpet. He turned as Silver ran to him and began to lick his face feverishly. He spluttered and Rin laughed as he shifted uncomfortably to get away from the dog. Silver leapt onto Ciaran's chest as he sat up against the wall, the puppy tilted his head to one side and decided it was better to conserve his energy and laid down. Ciaran looked at Rin for help but realized, with much horror, that she was recording on her phone with a big smirk stretched across her face. The puppy woke and let a little whimper as Ciaran picked him and sat on the sofa with him. Silver stirred, looked up at the boy with his wide innocent eyes and went back to sleep. He gently rocked the dog like a baby, his heart was pumping faster than he'd expected it to. Rin put her arm around Ciaran's shoulder and pulled him against her, she rested her head against his for a minute and lightly kissed his cheek.

"Proud of you." She whispered. Ciaran turned to her, his lips parted then he moved forward and so did she. Their lips brushed and Ciaran's phone burst into song. Silver awoke and threw himself to the ground in a frenzy of psychotic barking, Ciaran pulled away from his weapon and answered the caller.

"Kayo? What do you mean? Hang on I'll get the door!" Ciaran unlocked the door and Kayo stumbled in with blood covering her face. Ciaran caught her as she fell into the apartment and collapsed into a heap on the floor.

* * *

A/N:Hello guys sorry for not updating last week I started year 11 and I've had a fairly large amount of homework to do so I may not be able to update every week. But I will try! Thanks for reading I hope you have a good day/night /whatever…


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6.

With the aid of Rin Ciaran lifted Kayo and deposited her onto the sofa. Rin went and got a bottle of antiseptic and a roll of bandages, Ciaran filled a metal bowl with water and grabbed a cloth out of the drawer. She sat up and knocked Rin's hand away.

"I'm fine." She snapped

"Let me help you!" Rin advanced with bandages in hand as Silver went insane, throwing himself around barking. Ciaran started dabbing the blood from her face with the wet cloth and she attempted to pull away, but he pressed forward and carried on wiping. Finally he could see the cut, whatever had hit her had only glanced across her temple and it wasn't deep. With the wound cleaned and the blood flow being held back they relaxed. Kayo logged into her phone and handed it to Ciaran:

"Call Alex tell him I'm here." Ciaran pressed onto the name on the contact list and called Alex, after a lot of questions he finally got the message across and Alex told them he'd be over as fast as he could. As Ciaran hung up on Alex Rin hung up on Katarina.

*Some time later*

Everyone was gathered in the house, they listened to her story with bandages wrapped around her forehead.

"So you're telling me that they were beating up a manhole cover?" Alex peered at her, confused.

"Yes!" She yelled frustrated by the volley of the questions.

"I'll call Lord Death." Alex went into the bathroom and breathed on the mirror until it fogged. Using his finger he wrote the numbers "42-42-" Blue waves radiated throughout the surface in a pulsing circular pattern and after a minute of waiting Sid answered.

"Alex? You do realise how late it is don't you?" The zombie looked tired

"Sir we need to talk to Lord Death!"

"You can't." Sid rubbed his eyes and yawned.

"What!" Alex cried

"He had to leave town to attend to some business."

"Look Alex I need to get some more work done I'll speak to you later!"

"Wait-" The mirror faded and Alex was left with his own reflection. He stormed into the other room and informed the others.

"We need to deal with it ourselves." Alex grunted. Kayo swung off of the sofa and leapt up, before anyone could stop her she had stomped to the door and threw it open.

"Kayo wait!" Ciaran bellowed.

"Hurry up!" She yelled. Confused looks were exchanged and finally they motivated themselves to leave. The group made haste through the crisp night air with the streetlights soothing glow lighting the pavement. They reached the spot where Kayo had been attacked and saw it was swarming with policemen and ambulance workers. They looked at the approaching group and a porky officer attempted to bar their way to the spot.

"Please stay clear this is a crime scene." He puffed his chest out in a desperate attempt to seem intimidating.

"We're from the DWMA." Ciaran didn't grace him with a reaction.

"Yeah right!" He scoffed "You're just kids." Rin transformed and Ciaran caught her in weapon form. The others did the same behind them. Ruby transformed into a scythe double the size of Katarina and Alex followed suit. He stepped back and went deathly pale. The group weaved around him and ignored the attempted intervention of the workers. Ciaran looked at the cover, which glistened with coagulated blood in the combined efforts of the streetlights and the soft moonlight. Katarina stepped forward and rammed the tip of the scythe's staff into the slot and with a sizable amount of effort the cover finally fell back onto the road with a clang. Ciaran timidly looked down into the darkness and a narrow beam of light allowed them a small look into the sewers below. The fall was small. Ciaran went around to the officers and came back a moment later with three torches.

"We need to take pictures." Kayo pulled out her phone and checked it's battery. The stepped into the opening and one by one they fell onto the surprisingly clean raised path. The sewer was basic, along the sides of the wide tunnels were raised paths and a few feet below was a central canal for the waste to travel down in the murky waters. There was little smell and the walls were made up of mismatched and misshapen bricks. There was a trail of something glistening on the path. Ciaran lit his torch and aimed it in front of him, the only thing he could hear was the soft rush of water and the ominous rumble of a car passing above. Ciaran held the sword in front of him and followed the trail until they rounded a corner and saw a soft light coming from a small tunnel to one side. Ciaran crouched and stalked towards it, he tried to make as little noise as possible. He peeked around the corner and looked into a large room. Most of it was consumed with shadow but the center of the room was dimly lit by a blazing fire. There was a table but Ciaran couldn't make out what was on it, he almost cried out when a black dress swept by. The dress went by again and the cold voice came from the figure.

"Will this work?" The voice was female. "Will there be enough!?"

"I have no idea you're the one who does this shit!" A somewhat familiar gruff voice came from the corner "You're the one who does the experiments." A spike slammed into the floor and pierced it, Ciaran held the smartphone tightly and it videoed every word they said.

"I know that you idiot!" She hissed "But will it be able to-" An inhuman screech came from behind Ciaran, he spun in time to see Kayo sweeping Kat behind her while simultaneously blocking the swing of a shovel using her weapon. She knocked it away, smacked him in the face with the stock of the rifle. Stunned the attacker had no time to stop Kayo kicking him into the canal with a splash. Ciaran stumbled back as a pair of piercing green eyes flashed in the shadows and narrowed at him. He cried out and tried to flee as another person attempted to swing a pickaxe at Kayo. The Meister twisted her ankle and cried out, she sprawled and the weapon slammed into the ground. Kat screamed and wildly swept the razor sharp blade across his chest, he fell to the left and tipped over. Into the rushing water. Kat looked down at her hands, numb with shock. Something fell from the ceiling and landed in the water with a plop. Ciaran looked to the ceiling as scorpions the size of babies began to seep from a pile in the ceiling in a mass of blackness. Ciaran cried out and slipped the phone into his pocket. Kayo helped Kat's feet move, they ran as fast as they could with the ominous chittering of the bugs behind them. The group reached the ladder as the black mass of bugs closed in from both sides, stingers held above them dripping dark green venom. They advanced upon them, the scorpions suddenly melded together and formed a shape. The knitted themselves together like a jigsaw puzzle. They formed a foreign outline and pale milky flesh stretched across the front while thick black segmented armour stretched across the black until it became a monster.

It was a giant scorpion. But it was a human as well. At the front there was a woman with long black hair and the same piercing eyes as the woman before, the scorpion part of her body was covered by thick black material and it stretched up into a sting. The bulb was engorged horrifically and the tip was bright green. The woman's features were the most noticeable features. The black material stretched across her chest and covered her breasts, across her back was a small collection of grey, pointed spikes. Her mouth was stretched into a sickening grin and Ciaran held the katana out in front of him as she reached behind her and tore a spike from her back with a sharp snap. Kayo raised the scope to eye level and fired a shot at the chest, it hit the black armour stretching across her. A heavy screech burst from the point of contact and it rebounded straight into Kayo's chest, it burst in a brilliant purple light and hurled her into the wall with a _crack._ She slid to the ground, blackness across her chest. Ciaran charged with a yell and swung, the tip slid across the armour with a shower of sparks and another deathly screech. The scorpion swung her spike at Ciaran and he dodged as the point swept through his hair, Kat slashed at the tail and it rebounded. The scorpion turned on Kat and stabbed at her, the barb pierced her arm and became impaled itself in the wall. Katarina screamed in pain and clutched at it as blood began to pour from the wound in a cascade. Another spike flew through the air and impaled her hand to the wall, she screamed in agony with tears rushing down her face. Ciaran felt his soul and Rin's resonating, the same blue flames started to lick at the sides of the blue orb that hung around him. The blade of the sword lit up with a frighteningly bright glow, the hiss of the cleansing flames becoming more and more audible as they resonated. The scorpion turned her attention to Ciaran and readied a spear to throw and pierce his heart, he went into a stance like a runner. He moved so fast that Kat's eyes couldn't make him out, he flew into the air above her and raised the sword above his head. Flame surrounded him like an aura, he felt the warmth that was just warm enough that it didn't sear his flesh. He clasped the katana in both hands and began to spin until he was like a blue catherine wheel, combined with the brilliant blue flames he looked like a comet. Ciaran fell from midair and with a loud below he cut her across the middle until he finished his twirl and landed in the ankle deep water. Ciaran landed and he felt his ankle twist and give, he fell to one knee and his cloak of fire dispersed in a wave that swept across the water and turned it to steam instantly. Ciaran cursed when through the steam he could make out her face, her eyes were wide and tear filled, Ciaran then noticed her mouth. It was stitched together in an "X" pattern the skin was red and looked painful to touch. Realisation hit him like a bus. She raised her hand to strike him down as he whipped his sword through the air, a wave of blue fire burst free and engulfed her. She reared back and Ciaran watched in horror as the black plating began to melt into sticky black goop that puddled onto the floor. The bulb on her tail burst in a shower of venom which evaporated instantly, the stitching on her mouth turned to ash and she looked at Ciaran. A small smile crossed her face and she mouthed the words:

"Thank you."

* * *

A/N: Evening. I hope you're all enjoying yourselves, sorry for slow updates I've been snowed under with homework because I started year 11 recently ;( so erm in response to Mushybooma they are not a thing I have some plans laid down but you'll have to wait :P thanks for reading~


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